Jack Smith 'has a plan to avoid' hurdles thrown up by Aileen Cannon: former Florida judge

At the same time that Judge Aileen Cannon was pressing lawyers for Donald Trump and Department of Justice prosecutors for a timetable to bring the Mar-a-Lago document case to trial, a former Florida judge was telling CNN that he believes special counsel Jack Smith has a "plan" to move forward no matter how Cannon rules.

Speaking with CNN's Dana Bash, Jeff Swartz noted a DOJ lawyer telling Cannon earlier that they plan to pursue the trial of the former president even it bumps up against the November election.

Asked what his takeaway from the hearing was, Swartz stated, "Well, for the notes that we've heard from before that I've been following, the reports that have been coming out, clearly, they're not going to get a July 8 date."

"And I'm not going to hesitate to say that Trump has to be careful because he might get yet what he's asking for, which would open up trial dates for [Judge Tanya] Chutkan after the Supreme Court comes back," he continued, referring to SCOTUS decision to hear Trump's immunity arguments. Those hearings are scheduled for late April.

"So he needs to get something in late August, early September to kind of interfere with that set, that trial being set then."

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"However, I think that Jack has a backup plan for that, and I think that he'll get what he wants from Chutkan, which is probably sometime in late July, early August," he elaborated. "I anticipate the Supreme Court will wait until the very end of the term to issue their opinion and I think that he has a plan to avoid whatever Judge Cannon does."

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The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board took aim at President Donald Trump on Friday, accusing him of pandering to young male voters by easing federal restrictions on marijuana – a move the publication says sends the wrong message to “vulnerable young brains.”

In an editorial titled, “Trump Goes for the Stoner Vote,” the board argued that Trump’s decision to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act mirrors past political attempts to sway young voters through policy giveaways – even comparing him to his predecessor.

“Joe Biden sought to wave away student debt to attract young people,” the board wrote. “Now President Trump is making a play for the bro vote by relaxing federal regulations on marijuana.”

The board went on to mock the message it believes Trump is sending to young adults: “Can’t afford to buy a home? Don’t worry, dude. Puff away your economic anxieties in mom and dad’s basement.”

While Trump has insisted that rescheduling marijuana “doesn’t legalize” the drug, “and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug,” the board disagreed with that framing.

“Reclassifying marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act doesn’t legalize the drug under federal law,” the board wrote Friday. “But it does let marijuana sellers deduct expenses from their taxes like other companies. It also sends the signal to young people that marijuana isn’t all that harmful, despite mounting evidence that it is.”

The board added that the MAGA leader “may not realize that weed today is four to five times more potent than in the 1990s” and hit his administration for targeting Tylenol, “which has proven benefits and minimal risks,” while it “now says marijuana is fine.”

The conservative publication concluded that the decision was politically motivated.

“So why ease regulation on pot?” the board asked. “Occam’s razor says Mr. Trump wants to shore up support among young voters. On Thursday he volunteered that rescheduling polls well.”

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The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board was enraged Friday that the Utah Republican Party backed down from its war on public sector unions, and on Friday, the editors made their thoughts clear.

This comes after the Utah GOP, having passed a law to outlaw public sector bargaining earlier this year, capitulated as unions gathered enough signatures to place the policy up for a vote next November.

"Government unions negotiate rich salaries and benefits. Then lawmakers invariably have to raise taxes to pay for them. Rinse and repeat," wrote the board. "Government unions, unlike those in the private sector, don’t have to worry about driving their employers out of business if they make excessive demands. Public officials also have an incentive to roll over to government unions to win their support in the next election. This is why Wisconsin Republicans in 2011 limited collective bargaining" — a controversial policy that is currently under litigation.

"The reforms didn’t prevent unions from advocating for anything," the board raged. "They simply couldn’t negotiate labor agreements that bound all employees, including those who don’t want to be part of the union. In this way, the reforms ensured that public workers could advocate for themselves in negotiations with employers — and that unions couldn’t impede the success of teachers and students."

Yet "rather than defend their reforms, Republicans folded," the board wrote. "Unions turned up the heat and peddled falsehoods. Surrender tells union leaders they can bully Republicans the next time."

The board took a swipe at Utah Gov. Spencer Cox for trying to strike a conciliatory tone with the unions, saying his main goal is “to refocus this conversation to ensure government is doing its best to support our first responders, educators, and all those who serve our state.”

"Mr. Cox’s pleas for civility in public discourse have been welcome. But repealing the reforms is a show of political weakness, not civility," wrote the board. "Public unions don’t want to sing kumbaya with Republicans. They want to dominate the state’s politics. The teachers union has sued to block the state’s education savings accounts. Now that unions know they have Republicans on the run, what other salutary state policies will they try to undo?"

The Kennedy Center is reportedly in turmoil following the Trump-led board's controversial decision to rebrand the storied arts institution as The Trump Kennedy Center.

Notus reported Friday that the move ignited a firestorm among performers in addition to sparking concerns about the legality of the rename.

Musician Kristy Lee, who was scheduled to perform Jan. 14 on the Millennium Stage, told the outlet she was "in the process of canceling her scheduled performance."

And her decision reflected broader outrage within the arts community.

“I feel really badly for performers, not just for performers but for the people who work there,” one person scheduled to perform at the center told Notus, who was granted anonymity due to fears of retribution. “Kennedy Center is supposed to be a memorial, focusing on being nonpartisan. A place where people, it doesn’t matter what party they believe in, should be performing and experiencing the arts together regardless of what their party is. And it has not become that.”

The performer added: “It’s no longer a focus on the arts, and it’s very sad. And I know a lot of the people that I perform with are very sad.”

Another artist who said they planned to keep their performance date told the outlet: “Reality show personality and con artist aren’t the type of artist the center showcases.”

And yet another said Trump's name was a "stain" on the center.

Signage was installed on Friday, displaying "The Donald J. Trump and" above the original Kennedy Center nameplate.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, has said the move reflected “the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.”

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